Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 14.djvu/271

telegraph in repair and use, and shall at all times transport the mails upon said railroad, and transmit despatches by said telegraph line for the government of the United States, when required so to do by any department thereof, and that the government shall at all times have the preference in the use of said railroad and telegraph therefor at fair and reasonable rates of compensation, not to exceed the rates paid by private parties for the same kind of service. And saidRailroad to be a public highway and free to the United States. railroad shall be and remain a public highway for the use of the government of the United States, free of all toll or other charges upon the transportation of the property or troops of the United States; and the same shall be transported over said road at the cost, charge, and expense of the corporations or companies owning or operating the same, when so required by the government of the United States.

Companies when to file assent to this act. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said companies shall file their assent to this act in the Department of the Interior within one year after the passage hereof, and shallRate of progress to be made. complete the first section of twenty miles of said railroad and telegraph within two years, and at least twenty miles in each year thereafter, and the whole on or before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five; andGauge.
To be connected with Central Pacific Railroad. the said railroad shall be of the same gauge as the "Central Pacific Railroad" of California, and be connected therewith.

Companies to use and operate road as one continuous line, and to secure to each other equal advantages, &c. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said companies named in this act are hereby required to operate and use the portions or parts of said railroad and telegraph mentioned in section one of this act for all purposes of transportation, travel, and communication, so far as the government and public are concerned, as one connected and continuous line; and in such operation and use to afford and secure to each other equal advantages and facilities as to rates, time, and transportation, without any discrimination whatever, on pain of forfeiting the full amount of damage sustained on account of such discrimination, to be sued for and recovered in any court of the United States, or of any State, of competent jurisdiction.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in case the said companies shall fail to comply with the termsIf companies fail to comply with certain conditions, this act to be void, and the lands not conveyed to revert to the United States. and conditions required, namely, by not filing their assent thereto as provided in section six of this act, or by not completing the same as provided in said section, this act shall be null and void, and all the lands not conveyed by patent to said company or companies, as the case may be, at the date of any such failure, shall revert to the United States. And in case the said road and telegraph line shall not be kept in repair and fitIf road and telegraph line are not kept in repair, Congress may, &c. for use, after the same shall have been completed, Congress may pass an act to put the same in repair and use, and may direct the income of said railroad and telegraph line to be thereafter devoted to the United States, to repay all expenditures caused by the default and neglect of said companies or either of them, as the case may be, or may fix pecuniary responsibility, not exceeding the value of the lands granted by this act.

The companies to be governed by the laws of their respective States. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said "California and Oregon Railroad Company" and the said "Oregon Company" shall be governed by the provisions of the general railroad and telegraph laws of their respective States, as to the construction and management of the said railroad and telegraph line hereinbefore authorized, in all matters not provided for in this act. WhereverThe word "company" to include "associates, successors, and assigns." the word "company" or "companies" is used in this act it shall be construed to embrace the words "their associates, successors, and assigns," the same as if the words had been inserted, or thereto annexed.

Mineral lands excepted from grant. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all mineral lands shall be excepted from the operation of this act; but where the same shall contain timber, so much of the timber thereonTimber for construction. as shall be required to construct said road over such mineral land is hereby granted to said companies: Provided, That the term "mineral lands""Mineral" not coal and iron. shall not include lands containing coal and iron.

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